Reel Time: The lure of reds

Redfish are a favorite target for local anglers and late summer and early fall is a great time to target this versatile gamefish. Redfish...

Reel Time: Dog days

The term "dog days" originated with the ancient belief that Sirius, the dog star, in close proximity to the sun, was responsible for hot...

Reel Time on the road: Big Sky and Red Lodge, Montana

This past week was spent mostly sightseeing near Big Sky and then later in the week exploring Red Lodge, Montana. After parting company with...

Reel Time on the road: Dillon, Montana

This past week I fished the Big Hole, Madison and Beaverhead Rivers in Montana with a group of anglers hosted by Captain Rick Grassett...

Reel Time: Anatomy of a fishing rod

Every fishing rod, be it a spinning rod, a fly rod or a casting rod, is constructed in a similar way and has the...

Rusty Chinnis

Rusty Chinnis is an avid fly fisherman, a photojournalist and a retired building contractor in addition to being a passionate defender of the local environment's importance to the health and economy of the area. A 42-year resident of Longboat Key and Manatee County, he is chairman of the board of Suncoast Waterkeeper, a founder and former co-chairman of the Sister Keys Conservancy, and founder and chairman emeritus of Sarasota Bay Watch in addition to being The Sun's Outdoors columnist. Email